Much like no. 2 [Lolium temulentum L.]; spike 5-12(-20) cm; spikelets 4-9-fld; glume 7.5-20 mm, usually surpassed by the uppermost lemma; lower lemmas 8-12 mm; paleas shorter than or merely equaling the lemmas; grain slender, 3.5-5 times as long as thick; 2n=14. Native of the Middle East, intr. as a weed of wheat-fields and disturbed sites in s. Can. and adj. U.S., notably on the n. Great Plains, but also in Ont. and N.Y. (L. dorei)